In Truths That She Learned
by CrAzYcAnAdIaNcHiCk710
Summary: Mimi finds out the truth about Roger & April. rated T for some swearing and eventual character death. postRENT, lots of flashbacks. REVIEW!
1. Reels of the Untold

Disclaimer: I do not own RENT!

I know its short, but itsmore of an intro than an actual chapter, the chapters to come will be longer!

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"Ugh," Mimi said sitting on the old, torn up couch, where she had spent the majority of her days since she came back. Ever since she came home from the hospital 2 weeks ago, Roger insisted she stay in the loft, for fear of a repeat of that Christmas Eve. Mimi, agreed to this, but still hated it. She felt like a prisoner. She had also quit her job at the Cat Scratch Club, which was also one of Roger's requests.

Money wasn't tight though. Roger had joined a band, Mute, which had gigs almost every night at local clubs. His song that he wrote for her, "Your Eyes", was sold in almost every music store in the East Village, which brought them more money. Mark's film, Today 4 U, had won an award at a film festival and earned him some prize money.

But right now, Mimi was bored, very bored.

She trudged over to their cassette player. She searched the drawer where they kept their tapes for a minute, then found the one with Roger's song, and played it. She quietly sang along with it, knowing the song entirely by memory now. As the rest of the songs were playing she looked around the Loft.

She needed to do something, anything.

She went in to the kitchen, or what was supposed to be the kitchen, and looked in the fridge. After a few seconds she pulled out the orange juice carton, obeying Roger's rule not to drink anything with alcohol, and went in search of a glass. She looked in the cabinet, nothing. She looked in the drawers, nothing. Then her eyes wandered over to the sink.

"So that's why we get take-out or pizza each night," Mimi said as she stared in amazement at the rather tall pile of dishes. "I don't know why I haven't noticed it before." She walked over to the sink, still staring at the pile of dishes.

"Well, I could surprise them and clean up the Loft a bit," she thought to herself, looking around at the rest of the place. "It's not like there's anything better to do."

It was an hour and a half later when Mimi put the last dish away.

"My fingers will be like this for a week!" she thought, staring at her wrinkling finger tips. She moved on to the dirty floors. It looked like a tornado went though that place! Clothes, shoes, everything was scattered over the floor. She searched the loft for a broom.

"Do these guys even own a broom?" she said. She went to the storage closet, and surprisingly, she found crates labeled "Mark's films".

"At least one of them is organized," Mimi thought as she grabbed one of the crates and returned to her spot on the couch. She opened it up. There were probably 20 or so reels, all labeled. One of them caught her eye.

It was labeled: "Roger & April-1988/1989"

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	2. Visions of the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own!

A/N: Reviews please!

Chapter 2: Visions of the Past

Mimi froze.

"Should I watch it? No one's mentioned her at all, well, except Roger that one time when I came over with that stupid candle. Why am I getting worked up over this, it doesn't make sense. I wish Angel were here, she would know what to do, she ALWAYS knew what to do!" Mimi thought.

"It wouldn't hurt anyone, if I watch it. I mean I'd be sure to put everything exactly as I found it." She said, making a mental note of the location of the film reel.

She went to get Mark's projector from his room and then came back out to set it up. Mark had showed her how to do so one day, since he had filmed one of Roger's concerts for her to watch. She followed his instructions exactly, making sure not so break or bend the film. Before she turned the projector on, Mimi stopped to think.

"If I watch this, should I tell Roger? Anyone? I don't know. I want to know about April, but I don't want to ask Roger about it. Oh well, he'll get home late tonight, so I wont worry about it until then," she said to herself. She knew Roger was with the band now practicing and he would go straight to the club where tonight's gig was. She turned on the projector, and sat down on the couch.

--Start of clip—

"Pookie, put that thing away, tonight we're celebrating!" Maureen said to Mark as they were walking down the street.

"It's my birthday and I can do whatever I want!" Mark replied.

"Hey Mark, give it to me! Your face needs to be on film too!" A woman with reddish hair said while reaching for the camera.

"No, no, no." Mark said, holding his precious camera back from her like a 4 year old protecting his toy from another kid. "You don't even know how to use it, April."

"Yeah I guess," she said. "Oh, here we are, The Life Café! Where's Roger?"

"His band had a show tonight so he'll meet us here later." Maureen said, "Should we go in, or wait for him outside?"

"Well I don't want to freeze my ass off out here! I don't think he will mind if we wait for him inside," Mark said holding open the door.

They got their seats at a table by the window.

--End of clip—

The screen was blank for a few seconds, then another clip began.

--Start of clip--

"Enter, Roger Davis, late for his best friend's birthday dinner, said best friend is truly crushed," Mark narrated, sarcastically.

"Sorry I'm late, the club owner mixed up the times, so we ended up going on a half hour later," Roger said, walking over to sit next to April.

"Hey sweetie," he said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, I'm fine, how are you?" Maureen said in her drama queen voice.

"Hey Mo," he said. "Happy birthday Mark."

"Finally," Mark said, using the same tone Maureen had used.

"So what does everyone want to eat? I'll pay." Mark asked the others.

"WINE AND BEER!" they all shouted.

"Anything else?" Mark said.

"Maybe some fries," April replied.

"Ok then, I'll be right back." He said walking over to the waiters' station. He noticed the waiters didn't like him much, maybe because he only ordered tea most of the time and couldn't pay. He came back to the table carrying 4 bottles of beer.

"So where are Benny and Collins?" Roger asked.

"Well Collins had a class," Maureen said, "And Benny, wait, Pookie, where did you say Benny was?" everyone looked at Mark.

"He said he had a meeting with his girlfriend's parents," Mark explained.

"Oh," Roger said quietly as he took a rather large sip of his beer.

--End of clip—

Within 4 seconds, another clip began.

--Start of clip—

"Here we have Roger Davis, who is currently going out with April Ericcson. Now he has decided to suck it up, and pop the question." Mark narrated, as they walked into a small jewelry shop.

"Shut up!" Roger said, looking at the very expensive rings in the glass case. There was no way he could afford these.

"Excuse me," he said to the woman behind the counter. She walked over to him. "Do you have any other diamond rings, that don't cost, um, well, that don't cost that?" he asked pointing to the rings he was looking at.

"One moment please, sir," the woman said cheerfully.

"Sir." Roger repeated quietly. He had never been called "sir" before. He just smiled, he liked the respect.

"Here you go, sir," the sales woman said handing him a box of rings. "There's that 'sir' again," Roger said, quiet enough for no one to hear.

"Thank you," Roger said, returning the politeness. He gazed at the rings. One specific one caught his eye. Single stone, small, but not cheap looking. He knew April would love it.

He picked it up and took it over to the register where the sales woman was now sitting. When he was counting out his cash, which was all his savings from his last 10 gigs, he saw he was only $20 short.

"Hey, Mark," he called over to Mark, who was cleaning his camera lens in the corner. He looked up and walked over to the counter.

"Do you think I could borrow $20?" Roger asked. Mark reached into his already thin wallet and pulled out a $20 bill.

"Thanks, I owe you one." Roger said, taking the small blue velvet box the saleswoman placed the ring in.

"Have a nice day!" she said.

"Thanks, you too," Roger said, once again returning the politeness, and left the store. He slipped the box into his coat pocket, and started walking down the sidewalk towards the Loft.

"So when are you gonna ask her?" Mark said, walking backwards as he filmed Roger.

"I don't know, the moment has to be right though. Get that camera outta my face!" Roger replied.

--End of clip--

A/N: Once Again-Reviews! Pretty Please!


	3. Tears That Need Answers

**Disclaimer: I do not own**

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, blame my evil teachers who give me way too much homework! Thanks for all the awesome ideas! **

**A/N 2: First of all, the moment Mimi and Mark have-- it's friends only-- not that it would be confusing anyways. Second, italics indicate thoughts; it'll be pretty obvious whose thoughts they are.**

Chapter 3: Tears That Need Answers

Mimi turned off the projector and stared blankly at the white screen. Tears began to blur her vision. She now knew that if April wouldn't have died Roger would have married April .

Mimi sat back on the couch, recollecting all of what she just saw. She couldn't imagine Roger with anyone besides her, or at least she didn't want to. She began to sob uncontrollably, her face buried in a pillow.

Then Mimi jumped. The Loft door slid open, revealing Mark with his camera bag hanging over his shoulder. Mimi quickly turned away, wiping away her tears with her sleeve.

"You- you're home early," she managed to say without completely giving away the fact she'd been crying.

"Yeah, I was freezing my ass off out there," he replied walking over to the couch. He noticed the projector was set up. "Watching Roger's concert?"

"Not exactly," she said, barely in a whisper.

"What is it, Meems? What's wrong? Do you feel ok? Should I call Roger?" He asked her, walking over to sit on the couch next to her.

"No, no, I'm fine--health-wise, at least," She said, biting her bottom lip to hold back tears. This was ineffective, for her sobs almost instantly broke through. Mark pulled her into a hug.

"Come on, what is it? You know you can tell me, right?" he said softly trying to comfort her. He glanced at the coffee table, noticing the labeled canister.

His mind started racing.

"_Damn, she probably watched it! But how much? Oh, man, this wasn't supposed to happen! I don't even know why I kept that film, I just made it in case Roger wanted to remember the good times with April, rather than when they were high or fighting. Maybe she won't ask. Don't kid yourself, Cohen, you know she will. This isn't the kind of thing you can just drop and forget. Should I tell her? Should Roger? No, I wouldn't do that to him. She wouldn't do that to him. Calm down, Cohen, she hasn't even asked yet!"_

"Mark?" Mimi said softly, coming out of the hug and her sobs, but he didn't hear her.

"Mark." She repeated, this time a little louder, breaking his fixed trance.

"Oh, yeah, what is it?" he said quickly.

"I want you to tell me about April," Mimi said calmly.

"_Shit!" _

**I know it's very short, but I promise the next chapters will be long. Please Review!**


	4. This Is Bad

**Disclaimer: I do not own!**

A/N: More Characters come into the story here. _Italics_ indicate flashbacks. Even though it's called a "flashback", Mark is still telling it to Mimi. Sorry if that made no sense! jus read and you'll get it, i hope.

REVIEWS PLEASE!

Chapter 4: This Is Bad

"Um….well," Mark said.

"Oh please, Mark I need to know! I can't ask Roger, we were just getting back to normal again. Please, Mark, please!" Mimi begged. Mark could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't going to back down.

"Alright, alright," he sighed, still unsure if this was a good idea. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, anything, everything," she said, still drying her tears.

"Ok. Well, Roger met April at a bar where his old band had on of their first gigs……."

* * *

_I got a seat in the back, so I would be able to get a shot of the whole stage. The song ended, and as the band was walking off stage, I noticed Roger going over to a table near the front. _

_----------over at the table----------_

"_Hey, I really like that song you just played," a young red head said as Roger sat down in the chair next to her._

"_Thanks, I wrote it myself. You come here often?" he said, trying to keep the conversation going. _

"_No, actually, this is the first time I've ever set foot in here, but I'm pretty sure I'll come back," she replied. "I'm April."_

"_Roger," he replied, shaking her hand. "Roger Davis."_

"_Well nice to meet you Roger Davis," April replied with a small giggle. "So, do you play here a lot?" _

"_Actually," Roger said, "this is our first gig. A friend of mine hooked us up with the manager and he let us play here."_

_They talked for 3 more hours. Then, Roger looked at the watch on his wrist._

"_Shit! I'm sorry, but I have to go," Roger said._

"_Ok," April replied, getting up from the table. "I better go too," she put three $1 bills under the salt shaker for a tip. "Nice meeting you."_

_She walked away ,slowly, hoping Roger would stop her. Sure enough, he did._

_"Hey, April!" She turned around. "Do you think I could call you sometime? I had a good time talking with you tonight."_

"_Sure," she said walking back to the table. She grabbed a paper coaster and a pen from her purse. "Here's my number," she said, writing. She handed it to him, and quickly walked away before Roger could even say "bye". _

"_April Ericcson: 555-1499," Roger said quietly reading the coaster. He shoved it in his coat pocket, and went o get his guitar. _

_

* * *

_

"Ok," Mimi said, still a little confused.

All of a sudden, Maureen and Joanne burst into the Loft, yelling at each other.

"Come on Pookie! I didn't do anything wrong! Why are you mad at me now?" Maureen shouted.

"You were flirting with the waitress on our date! In front of me!" Joanne screamed back at her. Neither of them had noticed Mark and Mimi were on the couch watching them.

"I was not!" Maureen yelled back. They were now on opposite sides of the Loft.

"Every single day, I walk down the str-," Maureen began to sing their ever popular "break up but we'll get back together" song, but was interrupted by Mark clearing his throat.

"Oh, hi guys, sorry bout that," Joanne said calmly.

There was an awkward silence, which Maureen and Joanne used to calm down.

"Hey, why is the projector set up?" Maureen said, breaking the silence. She looked at the projector, then at them, then back to the projector, now noticing the film canister.

"Oh," she whispered.

"It's my fault," Mimi finally spoke up. "I was bored, so I decided to clean up the Loft a bit. I was looking for a broom, but I found the films in the closet instead." Maureen could see the tears coming and came over and sat on the couch by Mimi. "And I decided to watch it. I don't know why, but I did. Not all of it though, just a few minutes," she stopped every few words to attempt to hold back her tears. "I don't know why I'm even so upset about this! It's not like she can come back and take Roger away from me."

Maureen looked at Mark, and mouthed, "This is bad."


	5. A Call For Help

**Disclaimer: I do not own!**

**A/N: Ok, this chapter is very long. COLLINS IS COMING! YAY! Thoughts are in _italics._**

**Review please!**

Chapter 5-A Call For Help

"Mark," Maureen began. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?' she said tilting her head towards the door.

"Sure," he said with a little confusion.

outside the loft in the hall

"What happened?" Maureen asked. "What did you tell her? How could something like this happen? We were all just starting to get back to normal, or at least as normal as possible! Even Roger was starting to—Crap! What is he gonna do? We can't tell him, no way in hell can we tell him." Maureen was now pacing, which she always did when she was truly nervous about something.

"When I got home she was crying so I asked her what was wrong and saw the canister, I don't know how much she watched, but it was obviously enough to upset her. All I've told her so far is how Roger and April met. This is bad, isn't it?" Mark said in a worried voice.

"No, not necessarily, it will be if Roger finds out though. What are we gonna do? Should we let her watch more of the film? Should we tell her about it all?" Maureen asked.

"I don't know. She'll want to know more. She's just as stubborn as Roger when she wants to know the truth," Mark said. "I know we can't tell Roger, but what can we do? Wait, Collins may be able to help! Does he have a class tonight?"

"Don't think so, I'll call him," she paused. "Hey, do you have a quarter?"

"What?"

"I want to go use the pay phone. If Mimi sees me calling him from in there she'll know something is up." Maureen replied. Mark reached in to his pocket, pulled out a quarter, and handed it to her. She began to make her way down the stairs and Mark sat outside the door to wait for her, thinking it would look suspicious if he returned alone.

While making her way down the stairs and then across the street, Maureen's mind was racing.

_How could this happen? I don't even think **I **even watched that film! We were all upset when she died, but Roger most of all. He took the longest time getting over it, getting back to life. It was Mimi who finally helped him do that. I don't think she would ask Roger to tell her about April, even she knew that was one the subjects he wouldn't want to talk about. What are we gonna do? It's freezing out here! This is a disaster!_

back in the loft

Joanne was still very confused at the situation. Her eyes wandered over to the coffee table where the film canister was.

_April? I think Maureen mentioned her once. Oh, yes that's right, she did. It was right after I met Roger and I had asked why he seemed so depressed._

She walked over and sat by Mimi.

"You ok, honey?" she said softly, pulling the hair out of Mimi's eyes.

"I guess, I just don't know why Roger would hide this from me? I mean, I know he and April were together a long time, but I didn't know he wanted to marry her!" she said, leaning over to turn the projector back on. "I need to know more."

Joanne quickly grabbed Mimi's arm, stopping her hand just inches from the projector.

"Mimi, don't you think we should wait for them? There may be things on this film you won't like and I think Mark and Maureen would want to explain it," Joanne didn't know what else to say. They just sat there in silence after that.

out at the phone booth

Maureen quickly dialed Collins' phone number. It rang 3 times before….

"Hello?"

"Hey, Collins," Maureen said. "It's Mo. Umm, we have a little situation over here at the Loft."

"Maureen, the last time you told me that, Roger was high and almost killed Mark, and I know Roger hasn't touched smack since Mimi almost, well, you know. So what's up?" he said, calm as ever.

"It's a disaster, or at least, it's gonna be. Mimi found the film Mark made about April! We're not sure how much of it she saw, but she was crying and Joanne's with her now and Mark's waiting for me to come back outside in the hall. We don't know what to do, so Mark thought we should call you cause you always know what to do!" Maureen said in what seemed to Collins to be one breath.

"Ok, first of all, calm down, I barely understood a word you just said."

She took two deep breaths, then he continued.

"Tell me again what happened, slowly this time," he said.

"Alright, well I don't know _everything_ that happened, but here it goes. Mimi was bored today in the loft, so she decided to clean it. She was looking for a broom or something and found Mark's films. She found the one Mark cut together for Roger after April died. She watched it. We're not sure if she saw the whole thing though, probably not. So can you come over here?"

"Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes," he said. He was just about to hang up when he said,

"Hey Maureen, don't worry, everything will be fine."

Maureen smiled. She always loved how Collins would act like a big brother to all of them. She made her way back to the loft, now feeling a little better.

Back in the hallway at the loft

Maureen came in and sat down by Mark, who was on the top step at their flight, just staring at the wall.

"Collins said he'd be here in ten minutes," she said. Mark didn't respond. "He also said not to worry, and that everything would be ok."

Mark smiled at this.

_That's Collins for ya, always being all philosophical on you._

After around fourteen minutes, they saw Collins coming up the steps.

"Sorry I'm late guys, the subway station was busy. So what's going on again?" He said.

"Mimi found that film a made about April," Mark said, now out of his trance.

"Ok. And I come in how exactly?"

"We thought you would know what to do, like you always do. And we thought you could help cause you knew April better than any of us," Mark said.

"Wait, how does he know her more than either of us did?" Maureen asked.

"She was in one of my classes; she dropped out though, after she got into drugs but before she met Roger." Collins answered, memories now flooding back to him. He now remembered the film. He had helped Mark put it together two months after April died, before Roger got clean.

"Oh," Maureen whispered.

inside the Loft

_What's taking you guys so long? Get your asses back in here! Ugh, come on you two! I need your help! I have no idea of what to do! HELP! _Joanne tried to telepathically send the message to Mark and Maureen.

Then, Mimi reached over to the projector again. Joanne grabbed her arm.

"Mimi. Please, they'll probably be back soon," Joanne pleaded.

"They're taking too long! I need to know, Joanne. Please," Mimi said, beginning to cry. Joanne pulled her into a hug.

"Shhhh, it's gonna be ok, you'll see," Joanne said in a maternal way. "If they're not back in ten minutes, I'll let you watch it."

_Damn! Now they have to come back soon! MAUREEN! MARK!_

Joanne let out a sigh of relief as they walked in the door thirty seconds later.

_That was lucky!_

She noticed Collins was with them. _This must be serious. _They all walked over, but Mark and Maureen stopped and went over to sit on the couch opposite Mimi and Joanne. Collins stood next to Joanne, who got the silent message, and went over and stood by Maureen. Collins then sat by Mimi, putting his arm around her to comfort her.

"Hey Meems," he said in a "big brother" voice.

"Hi," she said, a little more relaxed now that he was there.

**A/N: Good? Bad? I'm not sure if that was the best place to end the chapter, but if i didn't this chapter would be REALLY long!**

** Review and I'll be your best friend! lol**


	6. One Promise

**Disclaimer: I do not own!**

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in like, a month. I'm sorry!!!!!!!**

**REVIEW!!!!!**

Chapter 6-One Promise

"So, Mimi, how are you feeling?" Collins asked. He had been almost as concerned for her as Roger when she was in the hospital, because he already lost his Angel there.

"Fine," she replied. "Look, I know why you're here. I saw Maureen run out to the phone booth. What's so bad you guys can just tell me?"

Mimi looked at the other bohemians in the loft around her. Collins just sighed.

"Just tell me. I want to know, please," she said, giving Collins the puppy dog eyes she knew he couldn't say "no" to.

"Alright," he gave in. "but you need to promise me something."

"What's that?" Mimi asked.

"You can't tell Roger what you learn," Collins answered.

"Of course, I promise." she replied.

"Good," he said. "Now, where to begin."


	7. Where It All Started

**Disclaimer: I do not own. I RENT!!!!**

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**A/N: Two chapters, one night. REVIEW! Flashbacks are in _italics_. The story is still being told to Mimi in the flashbacks. **

**Can you find the RENT phrases/RENT related things hidden in this chapter???**

Chapter 7-Where It All Started

"I already know how they met," Mimi said, much calmer than before.

"Ok then," Collins said, putting his chin in his hand in deep thought. "Let's see what I remember."

There was a silence, then, he cleared his throat and spoke again.

"After Roger and April's first date, they seemed inseparable. You couldn't find one of them without the other. She spent most of her time at the loft. But, after they had been dating for about a month, things took a turn for the worse….."

* * *

"_But, wha-, how, oh my God," April gasped through her forming tears. _

"_I'm so sorry, Ms. Ericcson. Your sister, Lori, was shot and killed last night in an alleyway. We need you to come down to the station as soon as possible," the police officer on the other end of the line said sympathetically._

"_Yes, of course," April replied, still in shock._

"_Once again, I'm so sorry," the police officer said._

_April hung up the phone. Leaning on the old metal table for support, she cried softly to herself._

"_This can't be happening. Why? Why her? She said she'd always be there for me!" April thought to her self._

_Then, she heard the loft door slide open, revealing Roger, guitar case in hand. _

"_Hey," he said, not noticing her tears. She looked up. Her mascara left black streaks running down her cheeks._

"_Oh, April, what's wrong?" Roger said, rushing to her side._

"_It's Lori, she's- she- she's dead," April managed to say, bursting into louder tears, which caused her to fall to the floor._

_Roger had remembered April talking about her sister. They were really close. She always talked about how they did everything together when they were younger. He hugged her and rocked her slowly in his arms._

"_Shhh, it's ok, shh," he tried to calm her unsuccessfully. She continued to cry harder._

"_No, it's not ok, she's gone, my big sister is gone Roger!" she cried. Roger couldn't find the words to comfort her. There were none. He hated to see his girlfriend like this._

_They stayed like that for ten minutes, right until they were interrupted by Collins entering the loft._

"_Hey guys. What's up?" he said, cheerfully. _

_They both stared at him in silence. After a few seconds, April ran into Roger's room in tears. He thought of going after her, but decided against it._

"_April's sister died," Roger told Collins. "She was shot."_

"_Oh my God. That's awful."_

"_Yeah. April has to go down to the police station this afternoon," Roger said._

"_You should go with her, she'll need the support."_

"_Ok. I will."_

_Roger went to his bedroom door, pausing before he knocked._

"_April, sweetie, are you ok?" he said._

_Silence. _

"_Come on, April, open the door."_

_The door slowly creaked open, and April came out of the room._

_She weakly smiled. Roger could tell she was trying to be strong. He took her in his arms._

"_It's ok to cry. You don't need to be strong for anyone," he said._

"_I just can't believe it, I don't know what I'm going to do," she whispered._

_

* * *

_

_The funeral was a living nightmare for April._

_She was surprised to see that her parents even showed up. They had never really cared about April or Lori after they came to New York anyway. April decided not to even acknowledge her parents' presence. _

_It came time for April to talk about her sister._

"_I couldn't have survived in New York without Lori. She took care of me, exactly how a loving big sister would. She let me live with her until I could get a place of my own. She helped me in every way possible. Words cannot express how much she meant to me. She was my best friend. My rock."_

_April turned to the coffin behind her; it had a picture of Lori on it with a few small candles next to it._

"_You went too soon girl," April said, quieter than when she was talking earlier. "You went too soon. You will be missed. I love you." _

_With that, April turned around and walked back to her seat next to Roger._

_A few of Lori's friends went up and talked about her. When they were finished, everyone went out to the cemetery. _

_LOREN MARJORIE ERICCSON_

_MAY 9, 1962- AUGUST 24, 1988_

_LOVING SISTER AND FRIEND_

_April read and reread the words on the tombstone. She placed a single red rose on the coffin. _

"_Love ya girl," she said, before walking back to Roger._

"_You ok, honey?" he said, kissing the side of her head and holding her close._

"_Yeah, well as ok as I'm going to be. This will take time to get used to." Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. _

"_I know, babe, it will. But remember, you're not alone."_

* * *

All the bohemians were silent. 

"That's horrible. But what does that have to do with anything?" Mimi said.

"You'll see," Collins replied.

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* * *

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**Good? Bad? REVIEW!!!!**

**Hint: There are 4 RENT things I put in, but my friend found 5! Find them and you get a box of cookies!**


	8. Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own! RENT belongs to Johnathan Larson, musical genius! **

A/N:YAY! Another chapter! REVIEW!

A/N 2: I realized I said in an earlier chapter that April was already on drugs when she met Roger, if anyone noticed that. I just wnted to say that she is **NOT **on drugs just yet. Sorry if i just confused ya'll.

Chapter 8: Memories

"I left for MIT shortly after that," Collins said, looking at Mark, who seemed as if he was in a trance, then to Maureen.

"Fine, I'll take it from here!" she blurted out as Collins got up and Maureen took his seat.

"What happened next?" Mimi asked anxiously.

"Let's see. Besides Roger, I was one of the closest people to April. We were best friends……..

_

* * *

_

_April hadn't left her apartment in three weeks. Everyone, even Benny, came to visit her, bringing her food and just talking with her._

"_It's me," Maureen said as she opened the door, carrying a small grocery bag._

_No reply. Maureen set the bag on the kitchen counter._

"_April, where are you?"_

_She then began to hear soft crying. She followed the sound into April's bedroom._

_Maureen found April on the floor beside her bed, looking at an old photo album. She sat next to her. _

"_How you doing, sweetie?" Maureen asked. April didn't pay attention to her, she just began taking about the pictures she was looking at, almost trying to relive the memories._

"_Summer of 1974," April said, pointing to one of the pictures. "We went to my aunt's house, in Florida, that year. We would always go down to the small lake near her house to escape the heat."_

_Maureen smiled weakly. April turned the page._

"_Lori's sixteenth birthday party," April laughed softly. "My parents actually got her a car," she pointed to a picture of a car with a giant bow on it, and then turned the page. "Which she totaled the next month." She pointed to another picture of Lori, who was smiling, standing next to the same car, which was now completely wrecked._

_Maureen laughed a bit._

"_Lori's graduation," April narrated as she pointed to a picture of Lori in a royal blue cap and gown standing next to April. "She had dreams of becoming an actress, that's why she moved here to New York, even though she knew that our parents wouldn't approve."_

_She paused for a minute, remembering._

"_They were so pissed off when I said I wanted to come here too," she smiled, but then a sad look washed over her face. "Lori let me live with her 'til I could get a job and my own apartment."_

_April closed the photo album and held it close to her._

"_I just miss her so much," April said._

"_I know, sweetie," Maureen said, putting her arms around her friend, rocking her back and forth. "I know." _

_After a few minutes April pulled away from Maureen, getting up off the floor. _

"_So, what did you bring me today?" she asked, walking towards the kitchen. _

"_Just a few TV dinners, a carton of milk, and a bag of chips."_

_April laughed at her response._

"_I was never good at grocery shopping, either Mark or Benny does the food buying," Maureen said in her defense._

"_It's fine. Thank you for doing this for me," April replied, her voice trailing off. _

"_You know we're here for you. Roger, me, Mark, Collins, even Benny. Just call if you ever want to talk," Maureen said, hugging April again._

"_I know," April said, wiping her eyes. "I can't believe I'm still like this, I need to get back to my normal life."_

"_You will, I know it. It just takes time," Maureen said. "You need to know that Lori will always be with you, you just need to keep her memory alive."_

* * *

"That was one of the last times she was like that, normal. Clean," Maureen said.

A/N: TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! (also a big thanks to brilliant beta-Nicole! lol)


	9. April Showers And Storms

Disclaimer: I do not own. I RENT!!!!!

Chapter 9: April Showers And Storms

"A few weeks later," Mark said, continuing Maureen's story, "we noticed April was, different somehow. I mean, we were all happy she was getting out of her apartment and living her life again, but it was different than before."

Maureen nodded, "We were all worried about her. None of us knew where she was sometimes. Then, one day I went to see if she was at her apartment…..

_

* * *

_

_Maureen knocked three times on the door._

"_April? April come on, open up," she called, but got no answer. Then she remembered where April hid her spare key, above the door frame. She reached up, grabbed it, and opened the door._

"_April? Where are you?" Maureen said in a sing-song voice. She looked around the main room of the apartment, no sign of her. Maureen began to search the apartment. _

_When she entered the bedroom she couldn't believe what she saw._

_April, sitting on her bed, with a belt around her upper arm, ready to inject her self with the contents of a small needle._

"_APRIL WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!?!" Maureen shouted._

_April jumped, obviously not knowing Maureen had even entered the apartment. She put the needle on her night stand and took the belt off her arm and ran after Maureen, who had stormed out of her bedroom._

"_Maureen, just let me explain, I-," April pleaded, but Maureen cut her off._

"_Explain? Explain? Ok, April, I'll just 'let you explain' why you were about to shoot up. I'll 'let you explain' why you're doing this when you know it will screw up your life. I'll 'let you explain' why you think this is the only way to turn to escape your problems." _

_Maureen was now fuming; she couldn't believe that her best friend was turning to drugs to fix her problems. _

"_I can't help it Maureen__! Can't you at least try to see what I'm going through? I mean my sister died for crying out loud! I have no where else to go, no one to turn to that knows what I'm going through!" April cried._

"_Just because we don't know what you're going through doesn't mean we're not here for you. Especially Roger. What do you think he's gonna do when he finds out about this?" Maureen said, lowering her voice a little._

"_He'll probably say the same things to me that you are right now! He'll leave me and I'll be all alone!" April yelled._

"_Well," Maureen couldn't help but still feel sorry for her, she was still her best friend. "I won't tell him, but only if you promise me you will stop using that shit."_

"_I'll try," Maureen glared at her. "I promise."_

* * *

"The thing is," Maureen continued. "She broke her promise, she kept using heroin. She was addicted." _

* * *

_

_A week later, everyone, including Collins, who was already off for Thanksgiving, was in the loft for a "Halloween party," which basically meant they were all going to get drunk. _

"_Are there any Halloween songs?" Maureen piped up, taking a sip from her beer bottle._

"_What?" the rest of the group chorused, each of them giving her a confused look._

"_You haven't ever wondered? I mean, Christmas, New Year's, Hanukah, and birthdays have songs, so why can't Halloween?" Maureen asked._

"_Good point," April said from her spot next to Roger._

"_I'll write one!" Everyone laughed. _

"_Good luck with that!" Collins said, while taking a very long drink of his precious Stoli vodka._

_April then excused herself to go to the bathroom._

_In the next twenty minutes, Maureen had written her Halloween song, Mark had gone through his second beer, and Collins had drank nearly half his Stoli._

_But April was still in the bathroom._

_Roger got up from his seat and knocked on the door._

"_April, are you ok in there?"_

_No answer._

"_April, open the door now!"_


End file.
